The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Camellia plant, botanically known as Camellia sasanqua, ‘Green 02-004’. The new cultivar will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Green 02-004’. ‘Green 02-004’ is a new perennial shrub grown for container and landscape use.
‘Green 02-004’ was derived from an ongoing breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Fairhope, Ala., USA since 1992. The objectives of the breeding program are to develop new cultivars of Camellia sasanqua with compact plant habits, vigorous growth habits, improved disease resistance, and extended bloom periods. ‘Green 02-004’ originated as a seedling that arose from seed planted from open pollination of the Camellia sasanqua cultivar ‘Shishi Gashira’ (not patented) as the female parent in 2000 in Fairhope, Ala. The male parent is unknown. The new Camellia was selected as a single unique plant in Fall of 2004.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by stem cuttings by the Inventor in 2004 in Fairhope, Ala. Asexual propagation by stem cuttings has determined that the characteristics of this cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.